Preventing workplace cyberabuse: 2025 summit

In an era where digital tools are integral to our professional lives, new forms of workplace misconduct are emerging. Behaviours such as hostile messaging, surveillance, exclusion, and cyber harassment are increasingly facilitated through technology. This shift not only mirrors traditional workplace abuses but also introduces unique challenges that disproportionately affect women and gender diverse individuals.

Emerging research from the Global Institute for Women's Leadership highlights the prevalence of these issues and underscores the need for systemic change. Addressing workplace cyberabuse requires coordinated change across technology design, workplace policy, and legislation.

Join us for a one-day event with talks, panel discussions, and workshops to learn, discuss, and try out practical prevention solutions to workplace cyberabuse.

This event and project were funded through the eSafety Commissioner’s Preventing Tech-based Abuse of Women Grants Program – an Australian Government initiative.

What to expect

Join leading thinkers, policymakers, and advocates as we explore how to make the digital workplace safer, fairer, and more inclusive for all. The GIWL Preventing Workplace Cyberabuse Summit brings together cutting-edge research, real-world expertise, and forward-looking debate on one of the most urgent challenges of modern work: cyberabuse.

Across the day, you’ll:

• Hear from the leaders driving change. Gain insights from those shaping Australia’s response to tech-facilitated abuse, including Heidi Snell, Head of the Enforcement and Capability Uplift Taskforce at the eSafety Commission, and DrAnna Cody, Sex Discrimination Commissioner, as they unpack how technology, regulation, and leadership can work together to create safer workplaces.
• Discover new research and evidence. Learn from the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership’s latest findings on the prevalence and impact of workplace cyberabuse – from hostile messaging to digital exclusion – and how organisations can identify risks and prevent harm before it starts.
• Explore the future of work, gender and technology. Delve into thought-provoking conversations on how artificial intelligence, algorithmic bias and online disinformation are reshaping power, visibility and safety at work, and what a more gender-responsive digital future could look like.
• Connect and collaborate. Network with researchers, policymakers, industry professionals, and advocates united by a shared goal: building respectful, inclusive, and equitable digital workplaces.
• Be part of the solution. Leave with fresh insights, practical tools, and renewed momentum to drive cultural and systemic change in your own workplace or sector.

This summit offers a unique opportunity to engage directly with the experts and evidence shaping Australia’s next frontier in workplace safety and gender equality. Whether you’re a policymaker, researcher, employer, or advocate, you’ll gain the insights and connections needed to help drive meaningful change in the digital era.

Conference highlights

Panel discussion: Who is responsible for change? 

Engage with experts including Heidi Snell (eSafety Commissioner), Zoe Hawkins (Tech Policy Design Institute), and Cameron Cliff (Capyble) as they discuss Australia's strategies to combat gender-based online violence and explore the role of technology in both perpetuating and preventing abuse.

Research briefing: Workplace cyberabuse: prevalence and prevention 

The fast-paced development and integration of workplace technologies into our working lives presents new risks for workplace bullying and sexual harassment. Be among the first to hear groundbreaking research on the types and frequency of workplace cyberabuse, risk identification, and a dynamic framework for developing effective prevention strategies.

Speed Talks: Social media work is still work 

A series of rapid-fire talks examining how online engagement by public figures, LGBTQIA+ politicians, and disability activists constitutes work and the implications for workplace responsibilities and safety.

Live podcast & workshop: Bias in the Blink of AI: gender and AI in conversation 

Participate in two dynamic sessions will explore the intersection of gender and AI. Through a live podcast and an interactive workshop, we’ll unpack how AI is shaping gendered experiences – from bias and deepfakes to disinformation – and co-create ideas for more gender-responsive regulation and tech design.

Networking hour

Conclude the day with light canapés and an opportunity to connect with fellow attendees, fostering collaboration and continued dialogue.

Public evening event: Online misogyny, offline consequences: why it matters – and what we can do about it

What happens online doesn’t stay there. From trolling to incel culture, online misogyny is shaping our world – and our future. In this public event, we'll bring together an expert panel for a vital conversation about why it’s happening, who it’s harming, and how we can stop it. You can learn more and register via Humanitix.

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